Tax
farmers to get relief, PSEB toldMohali, August 17The experience of frequent power
cuts during the past one month in Punjab has left no one in doubt that
the PSEB is facing a real crisis. The reason is not only the free
electricity supply to the farming sector but also a huge power
pilferage, transmission and distribution losses to the tune of 47 per
cent of total supply and a surplus of about 50,000 employees.

HVPN yet
to achieve targeted loss levelChandigarh, August 17The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam
(HVPN) is yet to achieve the targetted transmission and distribution
loss level of 40.76 per cent set by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory
Commission (HERC) in an earlier order. This was stated in a HERC order
on Annual Revenue Report for distribution and retail supply business of
HVPN for 2002-2003.

Avoid
exports to MoroccoLudhiana, August 17Only a few years ago, Mr Satish
Kumar Behl, proprietor of the Citizen International, manufacturers of
sewing machines, would never have thought that he would turn bankrupt
with liabilities increasing day by day. Thanks to the cheating by a
Moroccan importer he is literally on the roads, with his financial
liabilities multiplying every day as he is unable to pay back the loans
he took from the financial institutions.

ST
amendments to hit industry in PunjabWith the promulgation of
the ordinance called Punjab Ordinance No. 3 of 2002 dated July 15, 2002,
the provisions of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 once again
stand drastically amended. It was earlier on September 29, 1999 that
section 14-B of Act was amended with a view to reintroducing at the
borders of the State sales tax check-posts in the form of information
collection centers.

India’s
forex reserves fall by $ 118 mMumbai, August 17After four weeks of inflows of
over US $ 2 billion, India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $ 118
million to $ 60,030 million due to erosion in US dollar’s value
against Euro and other international currencies for the week ended
August 9.

Chamber
for IT Park at JalandharNew Delhi, August 17In a letter to the Punjab
government, the PHDCCI has said that the policy of linking fiscal
incentives to provide minimum 50 per cent employment to Punjab
domiciles as per the Information Technology and IT Enabled Services
(IT & ITES) policy of the Punjab government should be deleted. The
proposal is to provide fiscal incentives to new IT and IT related
units if they provide employment to Punjab domiciles, said a
spokesperson of the PHDCCI.

AVIATION
NOTES

Discipline
in AAI at a discountThe Indian skies continue
to be hazy post September 11, 2001 attacks in US. But there is
uncertainty and confusion prevailing in the Airports Authority of
India (AAI), country’s premier aviation body.

RENT
CASES

Partition
of propertyQ. When the premises
consisted of front room and back room could not be utilised unless
front portion is bifurcated in two parts, whether the need could be
satisfied?

Mohali, August 17
The experience of frequent power cuts during the past one month in Punjab has left no one in doubt that the PSEB is facing a real crisis. The reason is not only the free electricity supply to the farming sector but also a huge power pilferage, transmission and distribution losses to the tune of 47 per cent of total supply and a surplus of about 50,000 employees. Result: the board is incurring annual losses worth Rs 1,800 crore, and Rs 2,800 crore annually if 3 per cent statuary returns on capital investment are to be calculated.

Mr R.B. Shahi, Secretary, Power, Government of India, who organised a press conference at Mohali Cricket Stadium here today, asked the PSEB to avail 100 per cent matching grant by cutting down financial losses through better management. He told the PSEB to convince the regulatory commission and the state government to impose reasonable charges on electricity supply to the agricultural sector. Otherwise, he said, the Centre would not provide any relief to pay the bills for coal, oil and other inputs.

The demand for power was rising at an average of 10 per cent per annum in the state, but the board had done little to meet the demand of 800 MW during peak
hours. Consequently, the cash-strapped board would find it difficult to find financial resources for additional 3,000 MW power required over the next five years. The state’s total power generation capacity was 5,700 MW including 1,250 MW from national utility services.

Mr Shahi asked the board management to take steps to cut down the over-sized work force.

“The state would have to enact an anti-power theft act like the West Bengal Government to put culprits behind bars if the situation has to be improved. The board can save up to Rs 1,000 crore annually by cutting down T & D losses curbing the power theft,” he said.

He urged the state to invest in thermal plants in Chhattisgarh and to set up hydel projects in HP and Uttaranchal to meet the demand and hoped the state CM would take appropriate steps to reform the power sector.

Mr Sudhir Mittal, Chairman, PSEB, tried to evade questions, when journalists asked him, “What is your action plan to cut down T& D losses and the financial losses?” He said the board would try to generate about Rs 250 crore additional revenue by improving its efficiency. He failed to provide any convincing response to the allegations of over-staffing, inefficient management, connivance of employees with consumers in power theft cases. Rather he expressed hope that the regulatory commission would allow to revise power tariff, as asked by the board.

Mr Shahi disclosed that the country would have to add another 1,07,000 MW unit of power in the next one decade to meet the target of 8 per cent growth in GDP. The Power Ministry had prepared a blue print to add at least 44,000 MW during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2002-07) by reforming state electricity boards. The other plans included to strengthen the national grid, increase plant load factor and to attract private investment in this sector.

Chandigarh, August 17
The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) is yet to achieve the targetted transmission and distribution loss level of 40.76 per cent set by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) in an earlier order. This was stated in a HERC order on Annual Revenue Report for distribution and retail supply business of HVPN for 2002-2003.

The order, issued, said that as per the calculation of HERC, the licensee (HVPN) had T&D loss level of 48.96 per cent in 1999-2000, which came down to 47.67 per cent in 2000-01 after adjustment of unmetered agriculture consumption on the basis of metered agriculture consumption. This rate further reduced to 44.52 per cent in 2001-02 but it failed to come down to the targeted level of 40.76 per cent, observed the HERC.

The HERC order mentioned measures such as replacement of defective meters, replacing of electro mechanical meters with electronic meters, better load management and better vigilance for reducing T & D losses, reportedly adopted by the HVPN, and said that it needed to be ensured that these steps were implemented strictly. “The Commission in its earlier orders had directed the licensee to replace all defective meters by December 2001 which has not been implemented by the licensee”, stated the order.

In the ARR (annual revenue requirement) filings, the sale figure projected by HVPN included agriculture consumption based on 5.49 hours of working per pump set per day for unmetered agriculture connections. However, as the figure of 5.49 hours did not match that of metered pump-set consumption, the HVPN was asked by the Commission to get the method of assessment consumption of unmetered agriculture pumpsets endorsed by the state government. The HVPN, however, failed to provide suvh government endorsement to the HERC.

According to the HERC there should not be any difference in the irrigation pattern of agriculture consumption between metered and unmetered pump set owners as the latter could “over irrigate their crops only to their detriment”.

The working capital loans of the HVPN would be around Rs 911 crore on March 31, 2003, stated the order and added that consumers should not be burdened with interest cost of “such excessive borrowings”.

However, the state government was also required to pay the arrears of subsidy of 2000-01 alongwith interest till date. The total amount of subsidy thus came to around Rs 1571 crore, the HERC said while it added that any borrowing done by the HVPN should be repaid as and when state government cleared the unpaid subsidy together with interest due.

According to the order, the revenue realisation for 2002-03 would come to Rs 2730 crore and would result in a revenue surplus of Rs 131 crore. The surplus could be considered for reducing and wiping out the Regulatory Asset, stated the order.

Ludhiana, August 17
Only a few years ago, Mr Satish Kumar Behl, proprietor of the Citizen International, manufacturers of sewing machines, would never have thought that he would turn bankrupt with liabilities increasing day by day. Thanks to the cheating by a Moroccan importer he is literally on the roads, with his financial liabilities multiplying every day as he is unable to pay back the loans he took from the financial institutions.

Despite having been awarded relief by the Moroccan court, justice continues to elude him as the importer is manipulating the legal system of his country to the disadvantage of Mr Behl. So much so the lawyer he employed in Morocco and whom he paid about Rs one lakh in advance also ditched him to side with the importer who has cheated Mr Behl.

Interestingly, Mr Behl has received 21 awards for his outstanding contribution to business particularly the imports which have earned the country a lot of foreign exchange. According to Mr Behl he received an order from Mr Hadj Ahmed Lahlou, Moroccan importer for the supply of sewing machines, which costed about $ 3,69,500. However, after supplying the consignment he did not receive the money.

When all the persistence with the importer failed, Mr Behl decided to move the Anfa Court, a judicial body in Morocco. The Anfa Court granted him relief by directing the Moroccan importer to make the payment of US $ 3,69,500. The importer went to the Trade Tribunal to get the amount reduced, despite the fact that the Trade Tribunal had no authority or jurisdiction to over rule the Anfa Court verdict. This according to Mr Behl was because of the connivance of his lawyer with the importer as he went to a trade court rather than making an appeal in the High Court.

Mr Behl along with his wife has visited Morocco 11 times during the last few years so as to get the payment. They have met all the officials right from the Moroccan ambassador in India up to the Prime Minister of Morocco to get their money. During his visit to Delhi in the year 2000, the Moroccan Prime Minister had assured him and his wife that he would ensure that they get their money. But so far they have not got anything.

Even the ministries of External Affairs and the Commerce have also taken up his case with the Moroccan government in order to get compensation. What is worrying Mr Behl the most is the multiplying of the bank liabilities accumulated for non payment of the loan money as he could not receive anything from the importer.

With the promulgation of the ordinance called Punjab Ordinance No. 3 of 2002 dated July 15, 2002, the provisions of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 once again stand drastically amended. It was earlier on September 29, 1999 that section 14-B of Act was amended with a view to reintroducing at the borders of the State sales tax check-posts in the form of information collection centers. Following these amendments, it became mandatory for the taxpayers to furnish information of their business transactions at the information collection centres whenever they come to pass through them.

The treatment meted out to the industry was a little bit harsh as provisions were also made providing for penalty even to the extent of 50 per cent of the value of the goods where contravention of the statutory requirement of submitting the requisite documents at the check-posts took place. Examining the constitutional validity of these provisions, the Punjab and Haryana in what came to be known as the case of Amrit Banaspati Ltd. Vs. State of Punjab (2001) 122 Sales Tax Cases 354 held Section 14-B (7) (iii) is partly declared unconstitutional inasmuch as it makes imposition of penalty equivalent to 50 per cent of the value of the goods as mandatory.”

Let us see what does the newly amended law lay down and what will be its impact on the trade and industry? As per newly inserted proviso second to sub-section (2) to section 14-B of the Act, the registered dealers sending to or receiving from a place outside the State of Punjab any goods as a result of sale or purchase, as the case may be, or otherwise will now be obliged to furnish particulars of the goods in a prescribed form obtainable only from the appropriate assessing authority with whom such dealer files his sales tax returns. The obligation would obviously be in addition to the one laid down in sub section (4) of section 14-B under which the same information is required to be furnished with the officer in-charge of the information collection centres.

The question is how far this repetitive exercise of giving information of the goods dispatched or imported from outside the State at the information collection centre that falls on the way where the goods happen to pass through and then again to the assessing authority under whose jurisdiction the assessee operates?

Does the monitoring of the movement of the goods at the information collection centres and compiling of the information that is collected for eventual verification from the sales tax returns the same assessee files with the appropriate assessing authority not serve the purpose to safe guard the revenue? Obviously, therefore, this new law is not only bound to have the effect of putting unreasonable restriction of the free flow of trade in the State but will also result in unnecessary harassment to the trade and industry.

Further, the quantum of penalty as provided in sub-section (4) of section 14-B has been enhanced from existing maximum level of twenty percent to fifty percent of the value of the goods involved. The amendment made in clause (ii) of sub-section (6) relating to detention of the goods and the vehicle not beyond seventy-two hours of their detention, however, is a welcome step. It is also heartening, on the other hand to see, that the maximum period for decision in the penalty cases will now be fourteen days from the commencement of the enquiry proceedings.

However, the burden of proving the genuineness of a given transaction in a case involving seizure of goods now stands shifted from revenue to the taxpayer’s side for what the newly substituted clause (i) of sub-section (7) requires that the Officer detaining the goods shall require the consignor or
consignee of the goods to prove the genuineness of the transaction before him in his office within a period of seventy-two hours of the detention.

This means the authorities empowered to seize the goods now are clothed with arbitrary jurisdiction to detain any goods even without spelling out any reason just calling upon the consignor or the consignee to the transaction to prove its genuineness. The amendments so made seem to be but result of legislation without deep thinking and overlooks the legitimate interests of the trade and industry.

Mumbai, August 17
After four weeks of inflows of over US $ 2 billion, India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $ 118 million to $ 60,030 million due to erosion in US dollar’s value against Euro and other international currencies for the week ended August 9.

According to Reserve Bank of India’s weekly supplement issued here today, the foreign currency assets were down by $ 118 million to $ 56,769 million.

Gold reserves remained static at $ 3,248 million while special drawing rights stood at $ 13 million, the apex bank stated.

In the week ended August 9, loans and advances to the Central Government declined by Rs 3,024 crore to Rs 10,257 crore while that to the state governments grew by Rs 801 crore at Rs 4,461 crore.
PTI

New Delhi, August 17
In a letter to the Punjab government, the PHDCCI has said that the policy of linking fiscal incentives to provide minimum 50 per cent employment to Punjab domiciles as per the Information Technology and IT Enabled Services (IT & ITES) policy of the Punjab government should be deleted. The proposal is to provide fiscal incentives to new IT and IT related units if they provide
employment to Punjab domiciles, said a spokesperson of the PHDCCI.

“This would lead to restriction on recruiting manpower which restricts the norms of liberalised competitive environment”, said the Chamber, adding, “the
restrictive policy would only send negative signals to potential employers”.

PHDCCI also suggested that all the statutory clearances required for the units in IT Parks should be provided within a maximum period of 45 days from the day the complete application is submitted.

The Chamber also suggested that Punjab should focus on developing a world class IT Park at Jalandhar. In this connection, it is necessary to invite multinationals and other reputed companies to develop the IT parks, the Chamber said.

The Indian skies continue to be hazy post September 11, 2001 attacks in US. But there is uncertainty and confusion prevailing in the Airports Authority of India (AAI), country’s premier aviation body. The AAI’s full-time Chairman D.V. Gupta retired in December last year. Since then S.K. Narula, Member Personnel, has been officiating as chairman. He retires this month along with two board members. The post of Member (Operation) has not been filled for more than a year.

As a result of vacuum at top, the discipline in the AAI has been at discount. What is cause for concern is that politicians have been working over-time to install their ‘favourites’ from outside the area of aviation. As it is, AAI’s performance has been sub-standard and, with outsiders holding pivotal positions, there will be further chaos in the body, which is entrusted with the responsibilities of maintaining and coordinating activities at international airports and other national and small airstrips.

In the Directorate of Civil Aviation, Mr Satender Singh continues to officiate as director-general although he is one who should be confirmed without second thoughts about it. His predecessor, H.S. Khola, who is trying to have association with the DGCA, officiated as DG for many years when he was merely deputed director-general.

The situation in the two national carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, is also bleak. There are many vacant slots in AI where most of the shots are being executed by second-in-command. Similarly, in Indian Airlines, some seniors have retired and suitable replacements are yet to be identified. According to aviation experts, AI’s recent assertions that it has made net profit is a clever cover to silence its critics. “How can there be net profit when there is operating loss”, asked three senior incumbents. There is unrest in the national carrier which needs to be steadied with meticulous and professional handling instead of playing with figures.

If Indian carriers have been severely affected because of unsatisfactory in-bound tourist traffic, the plight of airlines in US is worse.

Q. When the premises consisted of front room and back room could not be utilised unless front portion is bifurcated in two parts, whether the need could be satisfied?

Ans. This point was considered by Jharkhand H.C. in Ramup Sao v. Smt. Shaw Devi (2002 (1) R.C.J. 447).

Plaintiff filed title (eviction) suit U/s. 14 of the Bihar Rent Act for defendant’s eviction from the suit premises detailed in Schedule A to the plaint on the ground of reasonable and bona fide requirement in good faith for starting business by her younger son, Ashok Kumar Sao. Her elder son Krishna Kumar Sao, after death of his father was engaged in foodgrains business of the family.

Defendant contested the suit and denied plaintiff’s alleged requirement for the suit premises. According to him, Ashok Kumar Sao, was not
unemployed and seven if she required a suitable premises for him to start grocery shop, other suitable accommodation for the said
purpose, lying vacant could have been utilised for that purpose.

In course of hearing of the suit, defence witness in his examination-in-chief, admitted that there was no other shop available for the plaintiff son to start a new business. Another defence witness, on the other hand, deposed to the effect that plaintiff possessed a number of buildings including there at Chirkunda. In order to reconcile aforesaid contradiction, in the statement of two witnesses examined on behalf of defendant, no documentary evidence was brought on record to prove that actually three other buildings, suitable for the purpose, were available to the plaintiff at Chinkunda.

In the aforesaid circumstances, the H.C. found no reason to interfere with the findings recorded by the Trial Court that plaintiff required the suit premises reasonably and in good faith for his son Ashok Kumar Sao.

The H.C. also found that while considering question of partial eviction, Trial Court found that suit shop consisted a front room and another room connected therewith on its back and therefore, for business purpose, it was not possible to bifurcate into two parts. Back portion could not have been utilised by either party unless front portion was bifurcated in two parts, which was not possible. Finding on partial eviction also needs no interference by this court, noted the H.C.

Finding thus no merit in this Revision application, H.C. accordingly dismissed the same.

AIMANew Delhi, August 17
Tisco, Jamshedpur won the National Competition for Young managers, organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA) , here. While Asian Paints Mumbai was declared the first runners up, NTPC , New Delhi was adjudged as the second runners up in AIMA’s 28th All India competition in which over 100 companies participated this year. Mr Himanshu Joshi of MICO, Nasik was declared as the AIMA Samarpan Best Young Manager of 2002.
TNS

J K White CementChandigarh, August 17
J.K. White Cement organised “Stockists’ Meet” at Mussoorie, in which over 80 stockists from Chandigarh region participated. Pankaj Chandra, Vice President - Marketing said that, “J.K. White Cement” has been having major market share in Chandigarh region and there has been considerable growth in sales in 2001-02 and presented awards for the performance in same year.
TNS

Welding electrodesChandigarh, August 17
A meeting of Northern Welding Electrodes Manufacturers Association was held today at Ludhiana. It was felt that the price hike in the inputs and raw materials like wire rods has been enormous during the past one month and it was necessary to increase the price of the welding electrodes. But the members did not want to ignore the impact of overall inflation which has hit the end consumer badly, hence they felt it was obligatory on their part to absorb a major portion of the price increase in the raw
material and labour cost themselves. TNS

Urban coop bankYamunanagar, August 17
Hundred of accounts holder of The Yamunanagar Urban Cooperative Bank are running from pillar to post to withdraw their money. The bank has been closed as per the instruction of Reserve Bank of India. The main purpose of the bank was to provide loan to factory workers and to provide facility of deposit to common man.
OC

SBI customer meetChandigarh, August 17
The State Bank of India organised a customer Meet at Amritsar which was presided over by Mr R.K. Sinha, Chief General Manager, Chandigarh circle. Mr Sinha also launched telebanking services at Railway Station branch of the bank which has been extended to all the 14 fully computerised branches at Amritsar.
TNS